Nursing union urges Welsh Government to publish corridor care data
The Royal College of Nursing in Wales is calling on the Welsh Government to publish monthly corridor care figures for every health board, after England’s first national data was released.
Corridor care refers to patients being treated in corridors, chairs and other spaces not designed for clinical care because of pressure on hospitals.
RCN Wales says NHS England’s publication of the first national figures, which followed campaigning by nursing staff, gives a clearer picture of the scale of the practice in England’s hospitals, while no equivalent data is collected or published in Wales.
The union wants a commitment to publish corridor care data by health board every month, agreement on a national data set, and a first release of figures as soon as possible.
The NHS England figures show an average of 2,241 patients a day were treated in corridors or other inappropriate areas in emergency departments during May, with a further 669 a day receiving care in similar settings elsewhere in hospitals.
NHS England said the new dataset is classed as experimental, with figures expected to change as data collection processes improve.
Under the union’s proposal, figures would be published for each health board, including Betsi Cadwaladr, every month.
Nicola Williams, RCN Wales Executive Director, said: “Today’s publication of corridor care data in England demonstrates why transparency matters. We cannot tackle a problem we do not fully understand and are not measuring. Corridor care is unsafe, undignified and unacceptable. Nurses across Wales have repeatedly raised concerns about patients being treated in inappropriate spaces because of pressures on the health and care system.”
She said: “In recent weeks I have visited a number of hospitals across Wales where I observed patients in chairs, on trolleys in corridors, squeezed into spaces that are significantly overcrowded or not designed for patients, some had been there for well over 12 hours.”
She said nurses told her during those visits that the practice had become normalised and happens every day, causing harm and distress to patients and affecting staff morale.
In the Senedd on 2 June, the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, described corridor care as an unsafe practice and identified tackling it as a priority.
Williams said: “We welcome that recognition. The next step must be ensuring Wales has the data needed to understand where and when corridor care is happening so that effective action can be taken.”
She said: “Without consistent national and organisation wide data, it is impossible to establish the true scale of the problem, identify trends, target resources effectively or measure progress over time.”
The union is also calling for the publication of two national reviews into healthcare capacity, alongside policy recommendations.
Williams said: “The publication of data in England is an important step. Wales must now follow suit and ensure we have the evidence needed to eradicate corridor care for good.”
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